Cilybebyll is both a
village and a
community in the
Neath Port Talbot County Borough,
Wales. It includes the villages of
Alltwen, Fforest Gôch, Gellinudd and
Rhos. The village is located east of
Pontardawe, north of
Neath
Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...
and northeast of
Swansea
Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe).
The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
. The community has a population of 4,769 in 2011 census.
Cilybebyll estate
The Cilybebyll estate was established in the 15th century, and after development by various families, by 1838 was recorded as having the largest land holding in the district. Plas Cilybebyll, the main house, was redeveloped in 1840 by Henry Leach, creating a south-facing Victorian facade on the property. His son Frances Edward Leach inherited the estate in 1848, changing his name to Lloyd in 1849 by
Royal Charter in order not to forfeit his inheritance. The family remained in residence until the early 20th century when the family records were passed to the
Swansea Museum. Plas Cilybebyll is now a guest house.
Coal mining disasters
Like much of
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
, small-scale
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
has taken place in the area for many centuries. By 1849 it was producing large quantities of coal, which were readily transported around the world from the docks at Swansea. The dangers of coal mining past and present are highlighted by two disasters in the locality. In 1858, 14 men and boys died as a result of engine fumes being accidentally pumped into the Primrose Colliery. In 2008 the community council commemorated the 150th anniversary with a plaque on a park bench.
On 15 September 2011, water poured into the mine workings at
Gleision Colliery, a small scale colliery which had expanded as the price of
anthracite
Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the hig ...
had risen. Three miners escaped to the surface, with one taken to
Morriston Hospital. Units from the
Mines Rescue Service
Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to:
Extraction or digging
*Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging
* Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine
Grammar
*Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun
M ...
were called in from across the country, to rescue four men located below the surface. Four bodies were subsequently found. Parallel inquiries into the causes of the disaster were launched by
South Wales Police and the
Health and Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a UK government agency responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in Great Britain. It is a non-depar ...
.
References
External links
A Vision of Britain Through TimeBritish History OnlineBritish Listed BuildingsGenukiGeographLiber Mortuorum: The Book of the Dead: St John the Evangelist, CilybebyllOffice for National Statistics
{{Neath Port Talbot
Communities in Neath Port Talbot